It took me a while to figure out what to do with them. Which is something I'm sure my mother repeated over and over to me as young child, "What am I going to do with you?" They sat in my freezer for about 2 weeks taunting me much like they had in the supermarket. It got to me. "It's just turkey," I thought. How could I let something so simple, so small, frustrate me? I couldn't figure out what to do with turkey and almost has a nervous breakdown. God only knows what my mother was going through when I ran away from camp, threw a piece of marble tile at my sister or got lost at South Street Seaport when I was seven.
There were so many failed ideas with the turkey backs. It reminded me of my childhood and how many things I failed at; soccer, baseball, lacrosse, singing, the trombone, painting and sculpture. Virtually every activity children did, I could not. So, it must have been a great relief to my mom when she discovered, that in fact I did have a skill, cooking. That her tireless trips to practices, concerts and art lessons actually led somewhere. As her years of nurturing and trial and error finally bore fruit, so too would my struggle to cook the turkey backs.
Beans. It was so simple. So obvious. The obvious it seems has a tendency to be not so obvious to me. I think the same was true for my mom. Sure, every fat, overeating 11 year old doesn't love to cook as much as he does eat. But then again every fat, overeating 11 year old doesn't stand adjacent to the open kitchen and watch the cooks all night at the local Italian restaurant instead of waiting at the table with his parents. It's clear now that cooking was something I was in tune with as a child but I don't think it was obvious for my mother, or anybody else for that matter. When I was a kid my dad was busy starting his own business or working demanding Wall St. jobs and my mother was, by default, tasked with "figuring me out." I think all my antics, bad behavior, poor grades and lack of interest in school really was taxing and at the end of the day my potential became less obvious to her, just as my own obsession in trying to crack the turkey back mystery clouded me from the obvious solution.
Luckily however, all her patience and diligence paid off and she did help me figure out what I'm good at. What does this have to do with beans and better yet, chucks of turkey back? Well, together, with patience and ingenuity they can be transformed from hard and undesirable into something with unseen potential. This extended metaphor is in a way a belated mother's day gift. My great turkey/bean dilemma made it clear to me that if I was so easily frustrated by the remaining scraps of turkey, that my mother's patience is infinite, as must be her love. Thanks mom for seeing in me what I saw in those bony and fatty pieces of turkey: potential. Happy Mothers Day.
White Bean and Turkey Stew
4 cups chicken stock
2 medium carrots peeled and chopped2 stalks of celery chopped
1 large onion chopped3 cloves of garlic minced
1 sprig of rosemary3 tbsp Olive oil
salt and pepper to tasteRinse and soak the beans over night according to the package instructions. Place a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Meanwhile, season the turkey parts with salt and pepper. When the oil starts to smoke add the turkey and brown on all sides, 10-12 mins. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel. Lower the heat to medium and add all the vegetables. Saute until translucent, 4-5 mins. Lightly crush the rosemary in the palm of your hand so it releases its natural oils and add to the pot. Add the beans, turkey and chicken broth to the pot and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2 hours.
